Sept. 11, 2005

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men's soccer team won its third straight contest, defeating, St. Francis (Pa.), 1-0, at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles improve to 3-1 as a result. St. Francis falls to 0-3-1.

Marquette got the only score of the match in the 75th minute on a strike by Richie Harris. Harris was the beneficiary of a cross by senior Blair Kohlmeyer from the right wing, to Harris, who was in the middle of the penalty area. Harris put the ball at the top left of net past St. Francis keeper Bobby Pipech.

"The way it was played, it was really hard for anyone not to save it," head coach Steve Adlard said of Harris' score. "It originally came in off a corner kick and was cleared. I think the defense relaxed thinking the build up was over. They were disorganized and we took advantage of that."

Marquette's defense was good throughout the match, limiting the Red Flash to just five shots, none of which were on goal. St. Francis did threaten Marquette's lead in the 87th minute, however. Zach Koontz hit a dipping 14-yard shot that hit off the cross bar and was eventually played out of harm's way.

Playing on an extremely hot day with temperatures soaring to the low 90s, Marquette used a lot of players including several freshmen -- Jamie Zarse, Andy Gill, Mike Klemm, Nick Kay and Aleksandar Bjelic -- off the bench for several minutes.

"It wasn't that we were using freshmen, it was that we were using fresh legs, players that had stamina left," Adlard said.

The solid play of the reserves were lauded by Klemm, one of the bench players who saw significant action.

"It helps build our confidence as player and with each other," Klemm said. "I thought a lot of our freshmen played very well today."

The three-game win streak is Marquette's first since early in the 2003 season.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, September 16 at 7 p.m. (EST) in its first BIG EAST contest, visiting Syracuse. Marquette also takes on no. 7 St. John's on Sunday, September 18 at 2 p.m. (EST) as part of the trip.